Part of I-95 gets wider on Wednesday

A fourth lane along a traffic-choked three-mile section of northbound I-95 will be available to commuters on Wednesday morning, the Virginia Department of Transportation says. This is the first pay off from the I-95 widening project between Springfield and Occoquan.

On Monday evening, VDOT says, a section of the fourth lane from Lorton Road to the Fairfax County Parkway opened, and by Wednesday, the rest of the new stretch will open just past the Route 1 on-ramp to the parkway.

When the widening is all done in fall 2010, it will have added a fourth lane to the southbound side as well. Getting a northbound portion open now should help holiday traffic as well as commuters.

VDOT estimates that the new northbound lane can safe drivers five to 10 minutes between the Route 1 on-ramp and the Springfield interchange. Even drivers as far south as Dale City should notice the benefit in eased congestion.